Andrew, Nobody Cares
by VictorianSpirit
Summary: A short story set after the last TV series  Not Inc. Angel and the comics . Since Sunnydale was destroyed Buffy and her gang moved to a new, dull town. Things spice up when an old friend arrives. Features a little of Spike/Buffy  and Dawn/Andrew.


"Queen of Hearts?"

"Go fish…" Murmured Dawn as she tapped her fingers on the small dining table restlessly as she stared at her hand of cards. Ever since Sunnydale had been destroyed and Spike had died abolishing the Hellmouth life had become a little boring. Not that she should be complaining.

Buffy still fought the demons and vampires that presented themselves, but she was now spending a lot of her time roaming the streets aimlessly or teaching the other slayers what she knew. No big bad-ass monsters had popped up since the Hellmouth had closed, so now Dawn was of little use as she was no longer needed for researching the bad-guys, so she was attending a new college. Boring, pointless college.

"It's your go." Pointed out Andrew; eagerly anticipating Dawn's next move as if it was the most exciting thing in his present life.

"Hmm?" Dawn looked distractedly up to Andrew whom smiled at her encouragingly. "Oh right. 4 of Spades?"

Andrew banged his hand down on the mahogany table in mock exasperation, "Damn it! You're so going to win." He slid the card across the table towards Dawn.

She pushed her cards down onto the side with little patience, "It's ok; I give up anyway."

Andrew sighed and also placed his cards down. "Geez, everyone has gotten so moody since the Hellmouth was destroyed. Buffy is trying to take her mind off Spike, Xander is moping about Anya, Willow has moved out with Kennedy and you're… Well, you're just being all depressed." He whined, pouting childishly.

Dawn rolled her eyes and scooped all the cards up and placed them back inside their casing. "Buffy had started to finally reciprocate Spike's love, Xander still felt deeply for Anya (whom happened to save your life, if you had forgotten), Willow is moving on and life is just uninteresting now."

Andrew nodded his head solemnly, "I know, I know. Anya was a wonderful woman and died saving me, but I should have died after what I did to Jonathan. Where's Faith and Giles nowadays?"

"I think Giles has returned to England and is helping to rebuild the league of the Watchers and Faith has gone with the Principal to fight for the good of mankind or something like that." Muttered Dawn in deep thought. She walked to the kitchen in the new house that she shared with Buffy, Xander and Andrew and poured herself some orange juice from the fridge. Andrew followed her and tugged at his long sleeves before wrapping his arms around himself. He lent against one of the counters and looked at his feet. "So, what's going on with you and Xander?" Andrew asked casually.

Dawn's face reddened as she took a sip from her juice and glanced out the window to see the warm day outside. She should have been enjoying the sun. "Nothing, why?"

Andrew moved around the wooden island in the middle of the decent sized kitchen so that he was nearer to Dawn and smiled as he watched Dawn's cheeks colour deeper. "Getting defensive I see." Andrew joked a little femininely and then put his hand out to support himself on the isle so that he was looking directly down into Dawn's eyes.

Dawn studied her now empty glass and placed it in the sink before looking back up to Andrew. "I'm not getting defensive!"

"You are."

"Am not."

"Are so," Andrew teased, stepping closer so that Dawn was only a few inches away…. "Race you to the TV? CSI is nearly on!" Andrew then slid past Dawn and ran to the living room before grabbing the remote and turning the TV on with it whilst he pounced onto the sofa. Dawn laughed to herself and shook her head in disbelief.

When Dawn eventually wandered into the living room Andrew was stretched out on the three-seater with his eyes glued to the screen, so she stood behind the settee instead of taking the armchair. Andrew must have sensed Dawn because he said without looking away, "This one's really good; this guy's just been arrested for a homicide, but they've found new evidence and it turns out it wasn't actually him so now they've got to-"

"Why don't I just watch it?" Interrupted Dawn, walking around the couch and shoving Andrew's legs off so she could sit on the opposite side to him.

CSI had ended and a few more shows had played and Andrew had grown bored of watching the documentary on hares. He turned to talk to Dawn but saw that her head was lolled forward slightly, her hair framing her face as she slept. Andrew was touched by the sight but decided not to disturb her so he turned the TV off and closed his eyes, listening to Dawn's and his own breathing.

He was close to drifting off when he felt Dawn stir. She was still sleeping but was sub consciously shifting to become more comfortable. Lifting her legs from the floor she moved along slightly and lay down before resting her head on Andrew's lap. Andrew was unsure of what to do, but she looked sweet and peaceful so he too fell to sleep.

It was getting late out; it was almost half-past nine at night and the sky was approaching darkness. Buffy was unafraid as she walked the streets as there was no beast that she couldn't handle. Apart from her heart. Her heart was the one wild fiend that she couldn't control.

It was refreshing to feel the late-night breeze cool her skin, like the cold touch of her former lover. The man whom she had been growing to love and had been through hell and back to be with her. Spike had gone through agonising pain to win back his soul and sacrificed himself to save the world, and that was a big change from the passionate yet bloody vampire that he had been when they first encountered. She had used him, and he had tried to abuse her because of it, but he changed into a better man to repent for all he had done, and now she had lost him like she had with everyone else.

She thought back to the days when she was in love with Angel, another vampire, and how she had killed him when he lost his soul and began to hurt her friends. She would have done the same to Spike, but he never gave her reason to. Buffy was glad that she no longer had to watch her back constantly, and she was relieved that she could live a more normal life, but she still felt so empty. So horribly alone. And now Xander had gone away for a couple of weeks on a big building project in New York that he was due to return from soon, so she was left with Dawn, whom didn't seem to be coping too well with the change, and the annoying ex 'super-villain' Andrew.

Buffy decided that it was about time she headed back to the house, which was much smaller than the house in Sunnydale but still comfortable and spacious. Buffy became aware that someone was following her but she kept walking as if she hadn't noticed, and when the creature pounced it would get a heart full of stake. But before Buffy even got a chance to reach for her stake the being swiftly wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her backwards.

It was much stronger than she thought it would be. "Evil scum!" Buffy exclaimed, trying to kick or punch backwards but the position she was in made it impossible.

"That's not a nice thing to say to someone that saved your life!" Spoke an impossibly familiar English accent. The arm around Buffy's neck loosened as her knees weakened and her heart raced. She stumbled forward and turned to face the owner of the voice.  
>And there stood William the Bloody himself. "Spike…" Mouthed Buffy, her tongue not able to form the word. "I… I…" Her eyes welled up with tears as she stared hopelessly at the vampire dressed in dark jeans, a black top, and his long leather jacket with his trade-mark bleach blonde hair.<p>

"That's me, pet." Spike returned soothingly, walking forward carefully, not wanting to spook her.

"But that's impossible." Buffy said shakily. Her hands were at her mouth and a salty tear rolled down her cheek as the two stood on an abandoned path.

"The amulet brought me back… And I've come to see you, if you'll have me?" Spike asked the last part cautiously; he would have been holding his breath if he actually breathed.

Buffy walked forwards into Spike's arms as he wrapped her up and kissed the top of her head. "I told you that you were the one. I wasn't going to let death get in the way of that." Spike whispered into her hair. He was so ecstatic that Buffy still cared for him; else he might have died on the spot if she had turned away.

Buffy laughed a little at the irony in Spike's words, as they'd both died twice now and it seemed like nothing they could do would now stop them from being able to love each other.

Buffy was the first to pull away and she rubbed at her eyes and smiled up at Spike, "Come on, let's head home."  
>"Speaking of home; where is it?" Spike asked curiously as they dawdled side by side along the streets. The street lamps had begun to turn on and the lights in the houses were all shining brightly.<p>

"It's ten minutes from here; It's not fancy, but it's nice." Buffy told him, anticipating being able to fall asleep in his arms again.

Spike felt his soul glowing as he swayed along. He never felt so powerful as when he was with The Slayer. "As long as you're there, anywhere could be home."

"Now that's just mushy, Spike." Buffy complained light-heartedly as she entwined her fingers with his.  
>"But it's true." Spike added as he thought about being able to sleep alongside his love.<p>

The front door slammed shut, jolting Andrew awake and his body spasm caused Dawn to wake too. Dawn opened her eyes to find herself in complete darkness in the living room with her head on Andrew's lap. She blinked away the tiredness and pushed herself onto her elbows.  
>"Sorry Andrew, you should have pushed me off." Dawn commented, feeling a little embarrassed over the whole thing, but it was only Andrew so she wasn't as embarrassed as she would have been with Xander.<p>

"It's fine, you looked so restful and I didn't want to wake you."  
>Dawn grinned gratefully and stretched out her limbs. The light in the hallway was turned on so Andrew turned to peer over the top of the sofa. "Oh my!" Cried Andrew.<p>

Dawn sat up and followed Andrew's gaze to see Buffy standing in the doorway to the sitting room with her hand encased with Spike's. "Hello little bit." Spike said to Dawn warmly and nodded to Andrew in brief greeting. No one took Andrew seriously.

"Spike!" Dawn jumped up and ran into Spike's arms whilst Spike unclasped Buffy's hand and gave Dawn a squeeze. All of the ill-feelings Dawn may have gathered for Spike had now seemed to have dispersed, and she was back to the old ways of idolising him. "How?" Was all Dawn managed to ask in her excitable state.

"Why don't we talk about it tomorrow and I can tell you all about what's happened. But for now we can order something to eat and then get some rest." Spike proposed, looking from face to face. It was clear that the vote was unanimous. "Pizza anyone?"

"I prefer Indian, myself." Andrew stated from the sofa whilst he rested his chin on his folded arms as he faced them all.  
>Buffy shot Andrew a stern look and then turned back to Spike, "Pizza it is!"<p>

The four had talked about Spike's time spent with Angel and what Buffy had been up to since the Hellmouth was closed, but Spike had not once torn his eyes from Buffy. Dawn had seen the adoring look on Spikes face and now, as Spike held Buffy as she slept, he still looked on her with love and respect. Eventually Spike also fell to sleep, but he nestled his face close in to Buffy's neck so he could smell her sweet scent throughout the night.

Dawn laid on her side in her soft white single bed and stared at her wall in the dark as she was no longer tired seeing as she had slept during the day. She still couldn't believe she fell asleep on Andrew; that was a bit embarrassing. A quiet rapping echoed around Dawn's room and appeared to come from her window. Dawn pushed her quilt down slowly, climbed out of bed and walked warily towards her closed curtains. A louder knock sounded, this time from her door.

"Dawn, you awake?" Called Andrew quietly. His face was planted to the other side of the door as he listened for any signs of movement. Dawn let out a lengthy sigh of relief and wandered over to the door in her grey silk shorts and plain white vest top before opening it swiftly, causing Andrew to stumble forward. He then stood up straight with his legs clamped together and lifted up his hand and parted his four fingers in the middle as he said "Live long and prosper". He was wearing deep blue cotton pyjama bottoms and a baggy, blue cotton top that had the Star Trek symbol crudely sewed on to the left hand side of the chest. Dawn would not have been surprised to hear he had sewn it on himself.

Dawn looked at Andrew quizzically and he announced " SoH legh 'IH."

"Do you actually speak English?" She asked somewhat incredulously.

"It's Klingon for 'You look beautiful." Andrew told her innocently.

Dawn smiled at Andrew, "Oh, that's ok then." She stepped aside, "Come in."

Andrew looked like a small child that had been caught doing something he shouldn't have been as he snooped past Dawn, looking guiltily down at the beige carpeting. He wasn't used to going into girls' bedrooms so he felt as if he was doing wrong by it.

Dawn sat cross-legged on the floor near to her white dressing table and Andrew sat down in front of her. He held is palms up to face her and Dawn arched her eyebrows, "What are you doing?"

"Pat-a-cake?" Andrew asked, and showed her the actions she had to do. Dawn reluctantly joined in, but found that the repetitive sequence was actually rather calming and fun once you got into it. They even started to talk about silly little things like the shows they had watched that day and what they had dreamt about whilst clapping hands with each other.

Dawn began to talk about Xander and mentioned that she thought he would be coming back tomorrow sometime.

"Does Dawnie have a crush on Xander?" Badgered Andrew as Dawn smacked her hands into his a little harder. "Ow!" Complained Andrew boyishly. Dawn didn't apologise.

"I used to have a crush on him a couple of years back. But I'm not sure about now…" Dawn said thoughtfully as she heard a low screech on her window again. Andrew's gaze also drifted to her window but Dawn told him it was just the wind.

"I think he's lucky." Andrew stated matter-of-factly, still playing pat-a-cake with Dawn.  
>"What do you mean?" Dawn halted the game for a second to tuck her hair behind her ears and smooth down her vest top before starting up again.<p>

Andrew smirked and told her "Xander is lucky to have such wonderful women after him. Anya was foxy and feisty and you are a total peach."  
>Dawn blushed and laughed shyly, "Thanks Andrew."<p>

"No worries."

A large thud then came from the window as a large black shadow became visible from behind the curtain. Andrew had jumped up from his spot and stood in a martial arts stance, not that he knew how to fight, and spoke to Dawn "Don't worry I'll protect you from… from… whatever it is."

Suddenly the window smashed open as shards of glass flew through the parting in the curtain and onto the floor. A blue scaly demon jumped in as Andrew stood dumb-struck; the demon scratched out at him and sent Andrew flying into Dawn's dressing table, smashing her mirror in the process. Dawn reached for the baseball bat she kept under her bed and swung it at the monster's head but missed and hit it's shoulder. She went to swing again but the demon caught it and pulled the bat away from her. "Time to come with me girly; then your sister can come and find you" It snarled.

Dawn kicked her leg up high and connected with its chest, causing it to stagger backwards. It kicked back, Dawn stumbled, and then she punched it in the face. But Dawn was no slayer and her power was no match for the demon's strength. The demon lunged towards Dawn so she hopped sideways but trod onto a shard of glass which slid into her foot. She screamed and fell to the floor, all of which was happening so quickly. The monster grabbed Dawn's wrist and was pulling her onto his back when he said, "You're all mine now."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Shouted a limping Andrew as he drove a large piece of broken mirror through the throat of the monster as it's body burst into flame and quickly combusted into dust. Andrew knelt down and looked at Dawn's right foot; the glass was still firmly planted in her sole and blood was trickling around the edges. "I'll be right back."

Dawn watched as Andrew ran from her room in his silly pyjamas and the next thing she knew Spike was stood in only a pair of jeans at her door and looking at the destruction site inside her bedroom.  
>"What in bloody hell happened here?" Spike asked worriedly as he walked over to Dawn and also inspected her foot.<p>

Andrew had returned and pushed past Spike, "It's fine, I dealt with it…" Andrew mumbled in concentration as he placed a bandage on the floor. "Sorry, you'll have to be brave as this is really going to hurt." Andrew told Dawn as she braced herself. He held her foot gently with one hand and pulled the glass out with the other before quickly getting to work on cleaning it and wrapping a cloth around it neatly. "Oh, I actually did it!" Andrew chirped gleefully; neither Spike nor Dawn was sure of whether he was talking about bandaging her foot or killing the demon.

"Well, you sure would make a good nurse," Spike joked before telling Dawn that she may want to take Xander's room for the night. Spike had noticed that Dawn had not once taken her admiring and thankful look away from Andrew whom was completely oblivious to it.

"You can come and talk to me in my room if you want." Andrew offered, helping dawn up and limping with her to his bedroom. Spike watched as Andrew, with his severely grazed back and Dawn, with her bandaged foot, hobbled down the hallway. Spike then returned to the still sleeping Buffy whilst Andrew and Dawn lied down on his blue double bed and stared at the ceiling.

"You know…" Dawn began, "Although you're a little older than me, you never have acted it." She hesitated. "Until tonight."

Andrew turned his head to face Dawn and he looked happier than he'd been in a long time. "You think?"

Dawn didn't answer but instead closed her eyes and kissed Andrew slightly on the lips. Andrew was shocked and extremely rosy, but he lightly and timidly kissed her back before looking up to the ceiling again until both Dawn and Andrew fell to sleep on top of the quilt.

The next day came and Dawn was cuddled up to Andrew on the sofa as he bashfully kissed her nose in a playful manner, causing Dawn to giggle with excitement. Buffy had been shocked out of her skin that Dawn had fallen for Andrew as he was just so… nerdy; but Spike wasn't surprised in the least.

The front door opened as Xander returned from his time away. He looked left to the sitting room and could see Andrew with his arm around Dawn as they snuggled watching TV. It took a while for the news to hit him, so instead of saying hi he bewilderedly walked in the kitchen to get a drink. But to Xander's further confusion, he saw Buffy with her arm wrapped around Spike's –whom had died saving the world to his knowledge- shoulders as they were locked in a passionate kiss.

Buffy pulled away and smiled at Xander whilst Spike ran a hand over his hair awkwardly.

_"What the in the name of lord have I missed?" _Cried Xander. _And boy, had he missed a lot._

* * *

><p><em><strong>I hope you liked it!<br>If you want any more Buffy type stories or romances, no matter who the couples you want are, feel free to request it and I may get round to doing it for you! :)**_


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